Need advice on a garage sale find

[Tonglen]

Hey all,
I just cruised a garage sale where a guy was selling a Folmer & Schwing 11x14
studio camera with a back, board and lens for $300. What to do? Largest I've gone is 4x5. Thanks in advance!
Brian

 

[david b]

what town do you live in?

 

[Frank R]

Ask for the filmholders if he has them. They are rare and cost $200 each.

Sounds like a decent price. It should include a stand though. Without one it is very cumbersome.

If it were a field camera it would be a steal.

 

[Tonglen]

Ask for the filmholders if he has them. They are rare and cost $200 each.

Sounds like a decent price. It should include a stand though. Without one it is very cumbersome.

If it were a field camera it would be a steal.

Thanks, Frank.
It has a stand. I didn't see any holders.
Guess I'll go back and look.

 

[JG Motamedi]

Run back and buy it.

Even if you don't want it you can easily resell it for twice the price.

 

[jimgalli]

CRAP! Yard sales in Tonopah Nevada seem only to produce baby clothes and boxes of fruit jars!! :rolleyes: Bring home 1st! Ask questions second!! What was the lens?? Some crummy old 19" Heliar no doubt.

 

[Jim Fitzgerald]

If I was so lucky to find an 11x14 at a garage sale for that price!! Hell, I'd beg steal or borrow the money if I didn't have it! Like Jim says if it has a decent lens on it, that alone will be worth the $300.00. I don't have an 11x14 in the arsenal yet but if I had a deal like that, you know I would. Let us know what it looks like when you get it. Heck buy it and someone on APUG will buy it if you don't want it. Good luck.

Jim

 

[Paul Kinney]

I have one of these beasts. Great camera. If you don't want it resell it. I always need spare parts.

 

[Tonglen]

Well, here it is; and it is rather beastly. It ended up having one film back. The extension rail adds another 36" to the 31" on the camera bed. The lens is a Wollensak. Sheesh, that's a lot of real estate to look through.

 

[smieglitz]

Sweet! Does the front rotate or ??? What are those three curved channels and knobs for?

Great find. What kind of Wollensak lens does it have and did you score any holders with it?

joe

 

[jimgalli]

That's excellent!! Now all you need is a 19" Sigmar to take up some of that extra space on the lensboard That truly is an excellent find for $300 bucks. Well done.

 

[Stephanie Brim]

Sweet Jesus and his Father...that's a find. You're lucky. Very, very lucky. You better make some nifty images with that thing.

 

[TracyStorer]

11x14 garage sale...

It was probably built as a copy camera...I have a very similar one, but the front is different. I think that as a copy camera, the rotating front would come in handy to straighten out crooked copy?

 

[smieglitz]

It was probably built as a copy camera...I have a very similar one, but the front is different. I think that as a copy camera, the rotating front would come in handy to straighten out crooked copy?

I originally thought that might be it too but after reflecting on it, I don't think that is it. The cone of light coming through the lens would be a point or circle starting out and rotation of the lens would not alter that or the position of objects in the projected field of view (though tilting it would). If you look through a lens, magnifying glass, etc., it doesn't matter if you rotate the element. However, rotation of the back would affect the straight line & frame edges induced by the format, which is where perspective control comes in.

I wonder if it was for attachment of an internal shutter or some other accessory (vignetting mask, filter, etc.).

I've never seen any other camera with a front like this one.

Joe

 

[Harrigan]

The front might have actually been a back at one time? It looks like it has the same type hinge found on the old ROC cameras used for rear tilts. I think someone may have added that front on there but that's just a guess.

http://www.fiberq.com/cam/roc/emp.htm

 

[TracyStorer]

I meant that the rotating front was actually the copy board(where the original would be mounted), and that the lens would mount inside the next section. Mine has internal hardware for lensboard sized panels in each stage.
Tracy

I originally thought that might be it too but after reflecting on it, I don't think that is it. The cone of light coming through the lens would be a point or circle starting out and rotation of the lens would not alter that or the position of objects in the projected field of view (though tilting it would). If you look through a lens, magnifying glass, etc., it doesn't matter if you rotate the element. However, rotation of the back would affect the straight line & frame edges induced by the format, which is where perspective control comes in.

I wonder if it was for attachment of an internal shutter or some other accessory (vignetting mask, filter, etc.).

I've never seen any other camera with a front like this one.

Joe

 

[eclarke]

At the ABSOLUTE least, it's a nice prop to have sitting around in your darkroom!! The best garage sale find I've heard about so far...Evan Clarke

 

[Terence]

Almost definitely a copy camera. I have a 5x7 of similar design. The little doors on the side allow you to place the lens and board in the intermediate sections.

Mine was made to make Magic Lantern slides from other slides. I have a Magic Lantern back and 5 film holders in almost perfect condition. Now if only Ilford cut Magic Lantern sizes . . .

 

[smieglitz]

I meant that the rotating front was actually the copy board(where the original would be mounted), and that the lens would mount inside the next section. Mine has internal hardware for lensboard sized panels in each stage.
Tracy

Ahhh. Got it. Thanks.

 

[Jeremy]

now THAT'S a lensboard!!!

 

[PHOTOTONE]

I think that as it is shown in your photos, the lensboard and ground glass are on the wrong ends of the camera body. The side pivot of the standard now used for the lensboard is more appropriate for the ground glass film back. I think you will find that the outside dimensions of the overall lensboard and the whole 11x14 back are identical and will interchange.

I second the opinion that this is more of a special purpose camera rather than a standard studio camera, possibly intended for copy and reproduction work.